This blog is made to share news on Alzheimer’s Disease in India. To raise awareness among the population in and from India, inform people of the resources they may have in their country and about actions taken by organizations. Also, it aims to support families and caregivers there to cope with this disease; help researchers worldwide and advocates in collecting datas and infos, develop views on the local Public Health Policy toward the affected elderly population in India.

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Friday, July 16, 2010

I remind all of you that this blog is dedicated to the topic of Alzheimer disease and related disorder, just to inform, discuss and debate. Non commercial,non political, non religious one. No cure can be proposed, no medication, no industry is supported. The blog is not responsible for any commercial enterprise or proposition to anyone and doesn't support such attempt.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Every morning, 72-year-old Mani Bharucha likes to go for a walk with her friends. A single woman, she’s chosen to live 90km away from the hustle and bustle of busy Mumbai life at the Dignity Lifestyle (set up by Dignity Foundation) Retirement Township in Neral near the hill-station Matheran. After the walk she tends the plants in the small garden attached to her cottage. She particularly loves the monsoons in the hills when the landscape turns a verdant green. “The quality of life is much better and there are absolutely no restrictions on our lifestyle,” she gushes.

Bharucha is among the growing number of senior citizens who are opting to stay in senior-citizen townships coming up in different corners of the country. And no, these are not old age homes but integrated townships for people aged 55 years and above, where the key selling point is senior living.

The living conditions are specially tailored for older folks with ultra-spacious, wheel-chair friendly rooms with anti-skid flooring and touchscreen systems. In addition, there are multi-cuisine restaurants, libraries, club houses, golf courses, wellness centres and spas. Of course, there’s geriatric care at hand and trained staff for housekeeping.

So you can perk up with a brisk walk, or enjoy an Ayurvedic massage, sweat it out at the fitness centre or engage in community development projects.

Who are the target buyers? Anybody who is looking at retirement (young retirees 55 years onwards) or the already retired or those who need assisted living can choose to stay in these homes.

Perhaps, it’s little wonder that the elderly parents of NRIs, retired bureaucrats, bankers and businessmen are increasingly finding their space in the protected environment of a retirement home.

“Senior-living homes have immense potential. Though it’s a western concept, and still in its infancy in India, developers need to take it to the next level complete with ultra-modern and hassle-free facilities,” says Saumyajit Roy, assistant vice president, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj,

According to a recent report by Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM), in India there are over 81 million elderly people. The figure will rise to 177 million by 2025 and by 2050 it will be about 240 million. Adds Roy: “After you retire from the frenetic pace of life, there’s no need to feel left out. Retirement townships are increasingly being favoured by elderly people whose children settle in different parts of the country or abroad and cannot visit them too often.”

From Mumbadevi to Bombay to Mumbai…Mumbai has come a full circle. The city that never sleeps is a city that has grown by leaps and bounds. The first thing that strikes you about “Aamchi Mumbai”- as the locals fondly call it-is the vibrancy, the energy, the pace of the people here. But Mumbai has seen her share of experiences, has survived calamities both natural and man-made; has many stories for its future generations to discover, and all this hidden beneath the smile that has been present through it all.

The human being through his/her journey of life, lives through its vicissitudes - the innocence of childhood lost to the travails of adulthood and finally old age. But is old age only about loss?? Like Mumbai, the elder too change externally, and gain experience internally. Throughout the metamorphosis, if the inner spirit is retained, the resolve only strengthens; with many tales to tell their future generations.

And the result is for you to see - an old city that has adapted to modern changes and emerged as a leading city in the world today, vis-à-vis the healthy elder individual- changed with the forces of time, yet beautifully adapted to the modern world.

And it is with this spirit that the city of Mumbai brings to you the 6th Annual Conference of the Indian Association for Geriatric Mental Health (IAGMH) - GERON 2010 - on “Healthy Ageing: From Concept to Reality”- taking away the focus from disorders, and moving towards promotive health.

It is our humble privilege and esteemed pleasure in welcoming you to two days of intellectual extravaganza, interactions with both National and International faculty, exposure to budding young researchers, and of course time to let your hair down, shop and relax a bit.

So mark your calendars and we’ll see you with us on 4th and 5th of September, 2010, in this great city - Mumbai.

Majority of Older Persons in our Country are a miserable lot and there are 10 crores of them.

Our Rulers have still not bothered to handle the problems which a very fast ageing society faces. According to a survey 66% of Senior Citizens [60+] can not afford two square meals a day, 90% of them do not have any social or health security, 73% are illiterate and have to depend on physical labour to earn their living and 37% are lonely cursing their age. The poorest among the poor are Senior Citizens.

Unfortunately, the attitude of our both State and Central Governments has been cold and indifferent towards their problems,

In view of this situation, the All India Senior Citizens' Confederation along with 27 other major National and State level Associations of Senior Citizens and Pensioners have decided to observe August 16 as the Protest Day. We hope that it will atleast stir up the conscience of our Rulers.

We lookforward to your support and co-operation in this regard.

We are attaching an Appeal which explains the present scenario. A line in acknowledgement will oblige